Our Team
CEO
Darrell Mays
Darrell is CEO and Managing Partner at Navigation Capital. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of nsoro, which sold to MasTec (NYSE: MTZ) in 2008. Darrell subsequently grew the business at MasTec from $70M to $2.6B. He currently serves as CEO of American Virtual Cloud Technologies (Nasdaq: AVCT), a portfolio company of Navigation Capital Partners. In 2005, Darrell founded the nsoro Foundation, which provides access to postsecondary education for youth who age out of the foster care system.
Chairman
Larry Mock
Larry is Chairman and Managing Partner at Navigation Capital Fund III. Larry founded Navigation Capital in 2006 and has managed 40+ investments across two funds since its inception. Prior to this, Larry was the founder and CEO of Mellon Ventures (the predecessor to Navigation Capital), and the founder of River Capital, the first private equity firm in the Southeast. Throughout his career, Larry has led 150+ private equity investments with an aggregate EV of $15B+.
CFO and COO
Ron Coombs
Ron is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Navigation Capital Partners and has a wide range of financial experience. Ron previously held CFO roles for Mellon Ventures, Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh, and The Regional Industrial Development Corporation. He was also COO for ImPACT Applications, a start-up software company. Ron began his career as a Certified Public Accountant and holds a BS degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Vice President
Alex Candee
Alex joined the Navigation Capital team in 2020. Before that, he was an Associate at Lazard, covering consumer, food, and retail. Prior to Lazard, Alex provided corporate development advisory services for middle-market companies and cofounded two software startups. Alex has worked on over twenty completed M&A transactions. He holds a BBA from the University of Miami, an MS from Southern Methodist University, and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
Vice President
Ryan
Peters
Ryan joined Navigation Capital in 2021, where he focused on SPAC investment origination and execution. Ryan began his career as a mechanical engineer and has 7+ years of experience in the consumer product, industrials, and energy sectors. Most recently, Ryan was an investment intern for Aflac Global Ventures and Lead Fellow for Southeast Investor Group. Ryan holds a BS degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business.
Vice President
Rahul
Wadhwa
Rahul joined Navigation Capital as an Associate in 2021, working on SPAC origination and execution. Prior to that, he was an Associate at Leo Capital, a US-based Venture Capital fund focused on Southeast Asia. Before Leo Capital, Rahul was an investment banking Analyst at TD Securities working in Fixed Income Sales and Trading as well as debt capital markets. Rahul holds a BBA from Emory University.
